Over the last several years computers have been interfaced with video disk players and touch screen monitors to provide a more interactive system than was previously available with only keyboard I/O and computer generated graphics. The combination of a video disk player, computer generated graphics, and a touch screen monitor all interfaced with a computer has given rise to more versatile interactive systems.
For example, utilizing the above combination, training systems are now available which are self-paced to the student and may be easily personalized to the student's requirements. The utilization of video displays from a video disk provides access to a wide range of high resolution color displays of materials. Those displays in combination with a touch screen monitor allows a student/user to quickly move through a training program with a minimum of keyboard entry activity.
More sophisticated or larger training systems may require several video disks or video disk sides, and it is important that the proper disk or disk side be loaded in the video disk player. With some training systems, the course activity may be a sequential activity from start to finish. In those cases, the disk sides are used in a simple sequential fashion, e.g. side 1, then side 2, then side 3, etc. However, more sophisticated training systems may allow the user to move to different nonsequential programs, and therefore video disks or video disk sides may be selected and used randomly.
The present invention addresses the problem of how video disk or disk side changes are to occur. For purposes of this specification, the terms video disk and video disk side are considered interchangeable. Prior systems provided the user some message that one side was finished and that another side should be loaded. Other systems have supplementary printed instructions which call for a particular disk side in association with a particular training session.
In contrast to the bare instructions provided by known systems, the disclosed invention provides an interactive system to assist the user in selecting the proper disk side at the proper time and thereafter having the user verify that the proper disk side selection has been made and loaded. In another embodiment, it is proposed that the system check the correctness of the video disk side loaded and thereafter proceed with the program or alternatively ask the user to supply the proper disk side.
It is an object of the invention to provide an interactive video disk side selection and verification system.
It is a further object to give the user specific instructions as to which video disk side is required and to have the user verify that the correct video disk side is loaded in the system.
It is still another object to automatically check which video side is currently in use, instruct the user if a change is required, and automatically verify that the correct side is being used.